MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th June, 2021) The composition of Russia's coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V will not be changed due to the Delta COVID-19 variant, first identified in India, as it is impractical to modify the vaccine with the detection of every new strain, Alexander Gintsburg, the chief of the Russian Gamaleya Research Center, told the Russian Izvestia newspaper.
In late April, Gintsburg told Sputnik that Sputnik V was effective against the Indian strain.
"It takes quite a long time to create a new vaccine under our regulations. The scientific part will take 10 days, and the regulatory part will take from three to four months. During this time, the virus will mutate, and another variant will emerge. Therefore, with that picture of the mutational activity of SARS-CoV-2, it is barren work to create vaccines for new variants," Gintsburg said.
It is better to maintain high antibody titers with the existing vaccine and get reinoculated with Sputnik Light when they decrease, the scientist added.
The Delta variant of the coronavirus was included in a list of the so-called variants of concern issued by the World Health Organization in June, as it became prevalent in some countries, causing a sharp surge in infections.
